


Runaway Ratón (All Parts)

by Fido_Barkin



Category: Furry (Fandom), Original Work
Genre: Angst and Drama, Anthropomorphic, Blood and Injury, Dog Man, Drama, Fennec Fox Woman, Fox Girl, Furry, Gen, Mouse Boy, Mouse Girl, Nudity, Original Character(s), Original Fiction, Original Universe, Originally Posted on Tumblr, Physical Abuse, Plot, Siblings, Swearing, Transformation, Twins, Violence, sfw
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-18
Updated: 2020-04-18
Packaged: 2021-03-01 18:47:32
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 13,974
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23721844
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Fido_Barkin/pseuds/Fido_Barkin
Summary: Hello everyone. Here is another story that I originally posted on Tumblr that includes my original characters.In this story, one of my mouse characters gets pissed off and decides to run away from home. As she makes her way down to the nearby town she scares an old lady, gets into a fight with a preacher, and winds up running from the police, all before getting imprisoned by a five year old little girl!If that's not enough to grab your attention, then I'll state that this story took me several years to actually force myself to finish, and some of the events described in it are things may or may not happen in a novel I'm working on that uses these same characters.Anyway, if you decide to read this and enjoy it, please give it a kudos, and leave a comment saying what caught your interest. I love getting feedback from the community. (^_^)





	Runaway Ratón (All Parts)

Runaway Ratón (Part 1)

The summer in the mountainous area was unusually hot and humid. This resulted in a nice accumulation of morning dew that would slowly steam from the grass in the early mornings, and on one particularly steamy morning a young mouse-girl awoke from a particularly restless sleep. As she opened her bloodshot eyes she breathed in a ragged breath and loudly sighed in a way that sounded, and indeed was, more like a grunt or a groan. She lay on her bed, the blankets and sheets, which were enthusiastically kicked onto the floor earlier that night, still lay in a great pile next to her bed. Her petite, nude, body was soaked with sweat making her fur stick to her skin. Her hair was completely disheveled. The bags under her relatively young eyes added at least five years to her appearance. Her naked tail was the only part of her that was even remotely cool.

After deciding to get up, she realized that the left side of her body felt much hotter and heavier than it should have. She relaxed her neck and let her head flop to the side to see where this annoying heat and weight was coming from. When she did so she was met with a mass of tangled blond hair that was the same shoulder length as her own. From this mass of hair she could feel hot breaths washing over her shoulder and chest. She groaned again at the realization of what this THING weighing her down was. It was none other than her twin brother who had crawled into bed with her during the night while she slept. He too was completely unclothed, but this didn’t phase the mouse girl because of their relationship. She usually wouldn’t say anything about this childish habit of his, but right now she was hot, and she was pissed.

Her brow furrowed and her eyes narrowed as she looked at how peacefully her brother was sleeping. Reaching up with her right hand she summoned all the strength she had and swung her body to the left. The air around her open hand woosh’d as she brought it firmly and brutally down on the bare ass cheek of her twin. The resulting noise sounded like someone firing a low caliber handgun. The report echoed throughout the room, and a scream was released as Val’s back arched and he reached down to grab the assaulted part of his body. As his weight lifted Vic pushed her brother off of her and over the edge of the bed as she yelled, “GET THE HELL OFF OF ME, YOU ASSHOLE!!!.

As Val landed on the clump of sheets and blankets he writhed for a bit at his rude awakening and choked out through teary eyes, "Wh-what did I do!?” As he lifted himself up to look at his sister her foot caught him in the shoulder and floored him again. He closed his eyes as his shoulders connected with the hardwood floor, and when he opened them he was looking directly up at his sister’s naked body. She had stood up with her feet on either side of Val’s shoulders and was continuing her glare from earlier.

“'What did you do!?’” she screeched. “It’s hot as bawls in this damn house as it is! That mangy mutt let the air conditioner go out, and when I try to get a little comfort from this fuckin’ heat by sleepin’ bare assed, I have to wake up and find that my sissy little bitch of a brother is laying on top of me!” When she was finished ranting she was huffing and puffing with more sweat dripping off of her as she continued to stand over her twin.

While between her legs he retorted, “B-but… it was so hot, and it felt so lonely in my bed… You’ve never gotten mad at me for sleeping with you before, so why are you mad now?” His gentle and calm voice was completely the opposite from his sister’s screechy, whiny, and frustrated voice.

“It’s just… Ya don’t… Ugh! You’re such a shithead! Don’t even talk to me today! Just stay the fuck away from me!” With that young mouse-woman stormed away from her bed and brother and went into the hallway so that she could use the bathroom and take a cold shower. She was willing to do just about anything to escape the sweltering heat.

Vic entered the bathroom without so much as a single knock. As she sat on the toilet to take a piss she heard an annoyingly familiar and sultry voice. “Hey there sweet cheeks~” She turned her head and saw the face of a white fox with long ears peeking at her from behind the shower curtain. Sidney had heard the commotion in the mice’s bedroom and thought that she would have a little fun when one of them came out to use the bathroom. She too was soaked with sweat from the hot night, and even her usually bushy tail was starting to droop. She had hidden in the shower and when she heard the door open she was surprised to see that Vic was coming in absolutely naked. She had always had her eye on the mousette but Vic could always see through her bullshit and never wanted any part of her.

“Oh great! What tha fuck do you want, ya bitch?” She kept peeing despite the unwelcome visitor, and as the sound of her relieving herself filled the bathroom Sidney simply smiled.

“Don’t be that way, Vic.” Sidney said in her extremely chipper voice that she always used when she wanted something. With a smile still spread across her muzzle she added, “I was just thinking since it’s soooo hoooot this morning us girls could share a nice cold shower together.” She leaned in closer as the sound of running water started to die down, and with a conniving voice whispered into Vic’s thin round ear, “And the boys don’t even have to know~”

At this point Vic was too hot to put up with fennec-woman’s antics. When she finished peeing she reached between her legs and wiped herself with her bare hand. Then she shot Sidney a furious look and pulled her hand up. Drops of urine flung from her fingers as she brought her hand through the air. This was the second loud smack heard in the house this morning, however this slap was punctuated by a wet snapping sound as well.

As Sidney covered her cheek in shock and pain Vic screamed, “I’ve told you a thousand times and ya still don’t fuckin’ get it, do ya!? I like women, but that doesn’t mean that I’m gonna sleep with every two-bit nympho slut who tries to hit on me! I’m not some piece of meat to be played with and you’d best fuckin’ learn that!” By now she had stood up and was glaring at Sidney who still had her hand to her cheek and a look of utter horror on her face. Realizing that she may have gone a bit far, Vic turned around and shouted, “Aah! This is all bullshit!” She jerked at the faucet on the sink, and when the water started coming out she ran her hands underneath to rinse the piss off of them. Then she stormed out of the bathroom, slamming the door behind her.

As she started stomping back to her and Val’s room, Fido came up the stairs. Noticing that one of his house guests was naked in the hallway, and because of all the commotion that he had been hearing, he asked, “What’s going on up here?” His voice was calm and steady, filled with more curiosity than accusation, but that didn’t matter to the teenage mouse. When she saw the big, anthro St. Bernard all she saw was the perpetrator of her misfortune. 'This is all HIS fault!’ she thought to herself. 'If this gigantic asshole would’ve made sure that the air conditioner was working right then I wouldn’t be so pissed off right now!’

Fido noticed Vic’s death stare and asked, “What’s wrong? And more importantly why are you naked?” Fido had gotten up early that morning and made a phone call to one of the humans that he trusted. He had asked him if he could buy the part that he needed to fix the air conditioner, and was waiting for the man to show up. Unbeknownst to Vic, Fido was having the hardest time with the heat. The breed of dog that he had been turned into was much better suited for cold environments, and his long thick fur caused him to overheat easily if he couldn’t cool down every so often. The others were lucky. They had been spliced with animals which had thin coats, and therefore the heat wasn’t as much of a problem for them, but for Fido, getting too hot could literally kill him.

It was a simple question, but with the morning she was having Vic blew up on Fido just as she had her brother and Sidney. “What’s wrong? WHAT’S WRONG!?” At this point the sound of running water came from the bathroom, but that didn’t stop Vic. “I’ll tell you what’s wrong ya stupid mutt! It’s been three days since the air went out and all you do is keep acting like everythin’s fine! Everything's NOT fine! It’s hot as hell, I can’t fuckin’ breathe, I’m covered in sweat, and to top it all off everyone is decidin’ ta hassle me today! I wish you all would just leave me tha fuck alone!!!” She turned to her door and kicked it open. When it swung back violently and caught Val, who was standing directly behind it, right on the nose. He had gotten dressed in a light purple t-shirt that had the word “PRINCESS” embossed on it and a pair of baggy shorts. The blow sent him sprawling to the floor and caused him to let out a loud cry of pain. As he writhed on the floor he held onto his nose which was starting to bleed profusely.

“Why’re ya standin’ right behind tha door you fuckhead!?” Vic screamed as her eyes went wide.

Seeing Val hit the floor Fido yelled in concern, “Valentine!” He hopped the last two steps on the staircase and rushed to help the much smaller guy. He pushed Vic out of the way and sat Val upright. He grabbed Val’s arm and lifted him to his feet as he said, “Tilt your head forward and keep holding your nose shut for now!” Fido instructed the petite mouse boy. He rushed Val into the hallway bathroom where Sidney had started her shower.

The fennec-woman had been thinking that she might have gone a bit too far with her flirting, but she saw no reason whatsoever that Vic should have piss slapped her. She made a mental note to have a talk with Fido about Vic once she cooled down and washed the pee from her face. She could still hear everything that was being yelled about through the door so she turned the water on and started to wash herself up. Not even three minutes into her shower the door was flung open as both Fido and Val rushed inside. The two men were so preoccupied with the blood that was dripping all over the place that they didn’t even register the presence of the naked and wet fox-woman behind the shower curtain.

“Keep leaning forward!” Fido shouted.

“Aaagh!” came Vic’s garbled reply.

“What the hell are you guys… Valentine?! Fido, what happened?!” Sidney’s eye’s were the size of dinner plates as she observed the scene.

Fido turned on the cold water in the sink and held Val’s head over it as slimy blood and tears fell from Val’s face. The purple shirt that the smaller man had put on was already stained with multiple drops of deep red liquid that would completely ruin the garment. He was groaning and crying from the intense pain in the center of his face, and his eyes were blind with tears, but he could still hear Fido’s concerned instructions.

As he was holding the smaller fur-covered man over the sink, Fido heard the sound of the shower curtain being drawn and saw Sidney, soaking wet, with one cheek glowing slightly red through her soft white fur.

“Vic kicked their door open and caught Val right on the nose.” the large dog-man answered her.

He reached down and cupped his padded hand so he could fill it with water. He then brought his hand up and let some water splash Val’s face. He looked over at Sidney and noticed that she was still just gawking and said, “Hey Sid! Earth to Sidney!” He waved his hand in front of her face until she came out of her trance. She looked at him and asked, “Oh! Right! What can I do to help?”

Fido replied, “That’s more like it. I need you to hand me a clean washcloth.” 

After he said this Sidney pulled the shower curtain back the rest of the way and stepped out of the tub. The water from her fur pooled on the floor as she opened a small cabinet and produced a fresh, white washcloth. Handing it to Fido, she watched as he let the cold water soak the cloth and then held the drenched rag to Val’s face. This made the mouse boy’s gurgled cries if agony only worse, but the cold sensation did help to relieve some of his pain.

“Just let all of the blood drain out.” Fido instructed Val. Then he turned to Sidney and said, “Watch him for a bit. I’m gonna go have a word with our little tantrum thrower.” The big bernard walked out the door as Sidney grabbed a towel and covered herself. She then started to rub Val’s back and comfort him as the smaller man continued to cry.

Fido left the two alone in the bathroom. He figured he shouldn’t have to tell Sidney to keep her sexdrive in check right now, but he couldn’t help being a little worried. He went to the bedroom of the twin mice and expected to see Vic sitting on the edge of her bed, ready to pop off about how none of this was her fault, and how her brother should have known better than to stand so close to the door, but when he looked around he didn’t see any sign of her. He looked under the bed, in the closet, and even in the rafters, but it was clear that Vic wasn’t in her room anymore. 

He went back and told Sidney, asking if she knew where she might have gone, but the white-furred fennec-woman had no idea. She did, however, suggest looking in all of the bedrooms including the one that was currently being used for storage. Fido nodded and then did a thorough sweep of the house, but still couldn’t find her anywhere. As mad as he was he was starting to get worried instead. Then he had a thought and muttered to himself, “Don’t tell me…” 

He was in the living room when thought hit him so he bolted up the stairs and back into Vic and Val’s room. He went to the closet therein and noticed that the small travel bag Vic had when Fido first took her and her brother in was missing, and there were a few more clothes hangers on the closet floor than usual.

“Oh no...” He quickly went to the bathroom and noticed that Val had stopped crying and it looked like the flow from his nose had all but stopped. He went and rubbed Val’s back before looking up at Sidney and saying, “I think... Vic might have ran away.”

* * *

Runaway Ratón (Part 2)

The sweltering, stuffy heat that had been plaguing the small mouse-woman was only slightly relieved by the open air of the forest from which she was presently fleeing. With the strap of her small duffel-bag slung across her chest she hurried away from the cabin. As she ran, she kept swearing to herself.

“Damn Val! Why did you have ta be standing behind that stupid door!? And I’m sure that fennec bitch is going to rat me out for slapping her. This day couldn’t possibly get any fucking worse!”

Before running away Vic slipped into one of her heavy metal band tees (the kind with demons, skulls, and blood all over the place) and a pair of her brother’s baggy shorts. Her tennis shoes kicked at the dirt road which led down the mountain, and before she knew it, she realized that she had run a fair distance from the log cabin. She thought about how Fido and the others would scold her if she went back, and how much worse it might be if they started looking for her and caught her. Thinking of these things, she decided to go off of the pre-existing road and ran into the woods. Twigs snapped and cracked as she made her way past them, and as she ran sweat drenched her clothing from the insane heat and humidity of the steamy, summer morning.

After about ten minutes of running through the woods she found herself in an area that was abundant with blackberry bushes. The barbed limbs of the bushes were hanging low with the weight of their ripe fruits.

Seeing all of the berries made her stomach growl, and reminded her that she hadn’t eaten breakfast before she left. Her breathing was heavy from running, and her small chest puffed in and out as she tried to catch her breath. That proved to be a difficult task however, because each time she breathed in the air seemed hotter and thicker than before, and she was starting to think that she would suffocate just from standing there. 

Looking at the bushes she realized how stupid she had been for not thinking to grab any food before leaving. She walked up to one of the bushes and sat her duffel on the ground. She then sat on top of it and slowly started picking and eating the deep purple berries. She was very careful not to let the thorns of the plants snag her as she snacked. 

Biting into the berries was almost orgasmic for the mouse girl. The cool crisp taste that filled her mouth with a sweet yet tangy sensation was exactly the kind of thing she’d needed. Although they were out in the heat, the area that surrounded the blackberries was completely covered in shade by a dense canopy of leaves. She found the berries not only started to satisfy her hunger, but also, since she had to stop breathing in order to swallow, they were helping her regulate her breathing.

Once she had eaten her fill, Vic realized that the berries had stained her hands bright red. She stood up and tried to wipe some of the remaining juice and partial berries from her whiskers, but with no mirror around for her to see, she inadvertently smeared the remaining juice all over her whiskers and muzzle. 

After wiping her face she could feel the sticky juice that was now stuck in her sandy blonde fur, but she decided she would continue on regardless. After all, there was no point staying where she was, and she didn’t have the means to wash it out even if she’d wanted to. She realized that sooner or later she would have to find some way to beat the heat. Turning to face her duffel, the mouse-woman bent over, and unzipped her large bag. 

After a few seconds of rummaging she pulled out a red handkerchief which she then placed on the ground and filled with several handfuls worth of the plump berries. She thought she would take some with her in case she wanted to snack on something as she walked.

Her pace was much slower when she set out this time. She figured if Fido had been looking for her he could have easily picked up her scent in his dog form and found her while she was resting. ‘I guess they really don’t care that I ran away.’ she thought to herself. 

As she continued walking she started to wonder why they hadn’t come after her. “Hmph! It’s not like I care!” she said out loud. “But really. What’re they thinkin’? I guess I pissed 'em all off so much that they’re happy ta see me go. It’s not like they’d go outta their way ta search for me. I mean, hell, they’re probably glad I’m gone! That’s just one more mouth they ain’t gotta feed anymore. I bet they’re just sittin’ around sighin’ in relief because 'Thank gods that little tyrant ain’t here no more!’ Val’s probably still cryin’ or some shit, the little pussy. I swear if it weren’t for having to look out for his sorry ass I would have been well on my way to a better life right now! After all, it was him who said we should trust those assholes with that creepy ass van, and then what happens!? We get taken to some bullshit government facility where they fuckin’ play with our bodies and turn us into these fucked up whatever-the-fuck-we-ares! I swear, if it weren’t for him! If it… weren’t… for him…” 

She let her voice trail off as she remembered how Val had tried to tell the doctors that they should just be satisfied with him and to let her go, and how he had watched over her when her body had an adverse reaction from a drug she was given, even when the doctors acted like they didn’t care if she lived or died. Finally she thought about how they had survived together after they escaped. He could have just left her on her own, she had handled her transformation a lot more poorly than he had, but ever since they were young, he had always promised that he wouldn’t leave her behind. 

Tears began falling down her soft cheeks. She put her hand up to touch them, but in the heat of the morning they barely felt warm at all. In that moment she considered going back and facing what she had done, but then she thought that she should keep on with the path that she had chosen instead. After all, she had already made up her mind, and she knew that going back would only make her look weak. After escaping from the facility she swore that she would never be made look weak again.

As Vic trudged down the mountain she came to the edge of the thick forest and noticed in the distance a small house. With the heat of the day ever-rising she was hoping that the owner of the house might be kind enough to let her stay for a moment and cool off. 

As she approached the house she ascended the stairs to the porch and was met with a large wooden door. The door was adorned with a simple brass door knob and knocker. Near the door, on the side of the house, was a wooden plaque which was held by a string on and nail. The plaque bore only two words “Greer Family”. After reading the plaque she shrugged, thinking that it would be nice if there were no kids here. She would hate to be pestered with a million questions about her appearance. Reaching her mousey hand upwards she was just barely able to reach the brass knocker. She gave it a few taps then shuffled her bag on her shoulder as she anxiously waited for a reply.

A large and rather frumpy woman had been sitting in the house. She was reading from her bible when she heard the knock. This woman’s name was Agnes Greer. She was a widow who had lived with her husband on the outskirts of the nearby town. A very devout follower of her church, she made it a point to always be early for service and to be the last one to leave. Everyone in the town knew her as someone who was very no-nonsense and wouldn’t tolerate even the slightest bit of sin. Why, she even called the pastor of her church out several times for things that she had seen him doing during the week. 

As she got up from her chair she adjusted her housecoat. She kept the house very frigid all throughout the year so that she could always justify wearing the warm garment. Today she had not been expecting any visitors so the knock on her door was quite a surprise. She thought to herself that she was in no state to entertain guests. If possible she would turn this person away and quickly return to her scripture reading. She put on her slippers and walked to the door, the curlers from earlier that morning were still in her hair, but when she peaked out the peephole she couldn’t see anyone. She started to dismiss the tapping and turn away when the brass knocker sounded again.

“Who is it?” she asked suspiciously.

Vic was so relieved to hear that someone was home that she forgot about the shirt that she was wearing and the sticky juice on her muzzle. Her brash and crass voice became much sweeter and her way of speaking became extremely dignified as she said, “Please. Can you let me in? It’s really hot outside and I’ve been walking all morning. I don’t need anything. I would just like to cool down for a few minutes. Will you please let me in?” She was starting to feel her bag get much heavier as she saw a chance for a proper rest. She couldn’t wait to sit it down and feel the coolness of an air conditioner for the first time in three days.

Agnes looked through the peephole again, but still could see no source for the voice which came from the other side of her door. Her first instinct told her that it was just some local girl who was probably going to try to prank her. 'Parent’s really have no control of their children nowadays.’ she thought to herself. Just as she was about to tell the girl to go away a large crucifix caught her eye. 'What if this isn’t a prank.’ she thought. 'What if the girl is telling the truth? If she should make her way into town and tell others that she was turned away here, what would they think of me?’ As she started to fret over what to do she convinced herself to let the girl in. 'Yes. I should be the Good Samaritan. After all, if some were to learn of this they would never let me live it down.’ Her voice became dulcet and melodic and her face bore a peaceful smile as she reached for the door knob. “Ah, yes dear. Do come in.” 

As she opened the door she was shocked to see before her a giant mouse-like creature that was standing on two legs and wearing a shirt that bore pictures of demons and other “satanic” imagery. The deep red juice on Vic’s mouth and paws looked like blood to the startled woman. 

“Geez, thanks lady. Yer a real lifesaver.” Vic said when she saw the door open. As she looked at the woman’s face she noticed the horrified look. “What’s wro-”

“AAAAAAAHHH!!!!” Agnes shrieked and slammed the door. “WHAT KIND OF DEMON ARE YOU!? MONSTER! MONSTER!” Without waiting for a reply she ran to her telephone and almost ripped the carriage off the wall. As fast as her fingers would allow she dialed the number for her pastor. Her heart was beating so hard that she feared she might have a heart attack before he could even answer. As she heard the other end pick up she didn’t even wait for a response. “HELP! HELP! THERE’S A DEMON AT MY FRONT DOOR! NEPHILIM! IT HAS TO BE A NEPHILIM! COME QUICKLY! IT’S GOT BLOOD ALL OVER ITS FACE! HURRY!” The pastor on the other side of the line tried to calm her down, but when he realized that that wouldn’t happen, he told her that he was coming right over. He wasn’t sure that she saw what she said, but he knew she was afraid and wouldn’t make something like this up. He urged her to calm down, call the police and tell them that there is an intruder, and lastly he told her to not open the door again, he was coming to help. 

After hanging up the phone she did as she was told and called the police. She told them exactly what the pastor had instructed her to, and the dispatcher said they were sending someone out right away. After hanging up the phone again, she went back to the door and shouted, “LEAVE THIS PLACE, YOU UNHOLY CREATURE FROM HELL!”

“WHAT THA FUCK, YOU UGLY OLD CUNT!?” Vic shrieked at the door. To be given the hope of relief only to have it snatched away was more than she could bear. “How tha fuck are you gonna tell someone ta come in and then slam tha fuckin’ door in their face, ya bitchy old hag!?”

“JUST LEAVE! I’ve already called the police and my pastor! You won’t be allowed to take another life!” the older woman screeched.

“I didn’t fuckin’ kill anyone, god damn it! All I wanted was ta cool off a bit you trashy old whore! Ya know what? Fuck you, cunt! I hope yer fuckin’ oxygen tank explodes while you’re asleep and blows those stupid ass curlers out of yer god damn head! Have a nice life, asshole!” With that Vic stormed off of the porch and continued down the road, kicking every rock that dared to be in her path. As she was storming down the road she noticed a car speed past her. She tried to flag it down, but it blew past her with such speed that it kicked up a heavy cloud of dust that caused Vic to cough and choke. She flipped the car off and yelled, “Fuck you, too, asshole!”

At her words she noticed the car's brake lights flare up, and then she saw the reverse lights come on. “No fuckin’ way.” she said as a smile spread across her face. 

As the car backed up to her she let her duffel drop to the ground. She waved her arms and laughed. When the car stopped about ten feet from her she picked up her bag and said, “Oh gods, dude, thank you for stopping. You have know idea how long I’ve-”

Before she could finish her sentence a middle aged man in a button up short sleeve shirt, black slacks, and a black tie jumped out of the car and looked at her wide-eyed. “Oh my God…” he exclaimed incredulously. Vic was confused by his slack jawed expression, but then remembered that the old cunt at that house said that she called her pastor. Just as she realized that this was that very person, the man sprinted at her and before she could run he tackled her to the ground.

The pastor couldn’t believe his eyes. He knew that Agnes must have seen something to make her freak out like she did, but he never thought that it would actually be the very thing that she described. Pulling the silver cross pendant from around his neck he wrestled Vic into submission and pressed the jewelry hard against her cheek, all while receiving a steady torrent of swears, curses, and threats. 

“Be still, you demonic beast!” he shouted at her. “I don’t know how you found your way up from hell, but I’m sending you back there, right now.” 

Vic tried her hardest to fight him off, but the preacher had her straddled between his legs with her arms pinned to her chest. She didn’t care about making sense of this situation. She had been in this position before and she swore to herself that she would never let anyone force her like this again. The preacher began reciting some words in Latin, “Exorcizamus te, omnis imundus spiritus.” and as he was focused with that the mouse-woman managed to slip her left arm free of his grip. As soon as she had her arm back she clenched her clawed hand into a fist and punched the man square in the jaw.

“I’m not a fuckin’ demon, you asshole! Get off of me!” she demanded.

The shock of the blow jarred the man slightly, but he quickly recovered and gave her a hard right to the face that split her lip and bloodied her pink nose. His hand then quickly slid around her neck and he began digging his fingers into her throat. As he squeezed his fingers tightly he shouted, “Your lies will not convince me! If an exorcism won’t send you back to hell then I’ll do it with my own two hands!” Feeling a sense of rage at being overpowered and a sense of dread from the pain around her neck Vic desperately lashed out with the only weapon she had at her disposal.

“AGH!”

The preacher suddenly let go of her and was writhing on the ground, covering his face with his hands which were becoming more covered with blood with each beat of his heart. Vic stood up and spit a bloody chunk of his cheek out onto his pressed white shirt. While the pastor was busy choking her he failed to realize that he had let go of her hands. With the quickness of a viper Vic had pulled his face to her mouth and used her oversized, razor sharp incisors to bite off a piece of her assailant’s cheek. The coppery taste of blood filled her mouth as the man flung himself from her.

She stood over him and tried to calm her breathing, but getting into a fight after being hot all day had made that task even more difficult than before she found the berry bushes. She walked over to the preachers head and said, “So you like picking on girls, huh?” She pulled her foot back and kicked him in the side of his face that was still intact. The force of the impact caused a spray of blood to splatter across the road. 

“Bet it makes ya feel like a big man, huh?” She stepped to the side and kicked him harder in the gut. This caused him to puke, and the stomach acid in his sick burned his fresh wound as it spilled out of the hole in his face. 

“You think just because you carry a bible that means ya can beat on people who are different than you?” She kicked him in the ribs this time, and when her foot connected she heard an audible snap. 

“Well, I got news for ya, asshole. If you ever come near me again, I’ll fuckin’ kill you!” She walked behind the man and kicked him square in the balls, causing him to howl in pain. She spit blood on him one more time before using his shirt to wipe the crimson liquid from her mouth and blow the snot and blood out of her nose from where the preacher had punched her earlier. She then picked up her bag, slung the strap across her shoulder, huffed loudly, and started walking down the road again.

As she walked she started to wonder if the entire world had turned into psychopaths while she was living in Fido’s cabin. She started to think that, maybe, Fido was right about not going out around regular people since she’d been changed into the mouse/human hybrid that she was now. 

She quickly shook those thoughts aside, though. She saw no reason why she should have to hide away from the world. If she was a little different now then the rest of the world should just have to accept her as she was. 

It was while she was thinking about this that she noticed the flashing blue lights coming toward her at high speeds. Her heart leaped into her throat as she instinctively ran from the road and hid in some bushes. As she watched the police cars pass all she could think about was the man that she left bloody and broken further up the road. She knew that those pigs would start looking for her as soon as they found him.

She started to panic. Where she and Val came from, the police were the last people you wanted to run into. Their city was so badly infested with dirty cops that it was safer to seek help from the pimps and whores if they were in trouble. She quickly made her way through a patch of trees as she rushed away from the road. She crashed through bushes and spooked a couple of deer out of their thickets, but before long she was able to make out a row of buildings just past the tree line.

She had never been to the small town at the base of the mountain before. The layout of it, as best as she could see it from where she was, reminded her of one of those old-timey towns that might be seen in a western movie. As she approached the edge of the tree line she skirted around it until she was behind what looked like a general goods store. She had to laugh to herself at the fact that general goods stores were still a thing. 'But I might be able to sneak in the back and they should at least have a bathroom where I can wash this crappy blood off.’ she thought.

As she crept into the shadow of the building she made sure to keep an eye out for anyone who might see her breaking in. —She often had to break into places if she and Val wanted to eat before they were captured by the facility— Breaking and entering had become a bit of a hobby for her, so once she got to the back door she quickly inspected it and scoffed at the lack of even the most basic magnetic alarm system. After pulling a wire and tension bar from her bag it was only a matter of seconds before she had the door open. She slowly peered through the cracked door before determining that the coast was clear. She slipped inside as quiet as the animal with which she was fused. 

Once her tail was clear of the door she closed and locked it back. The feeling of the air conditioner in the store made her let her guard down. She set her bag to the side before sitting on the floor with her arms and legs spread. She then placed her tail across her lap and slowly breathed in the cold air. Her chest rose with each breath as she closed her eyes and relaxed for just a few seconds.

While lost in her bliss she failed to notice the pale skinned man with jet black hair that stepped out to stand in front of her. He was wearing a blue striped, button up shirt under a black dress vest and a pair of pressed black slacks with black dress shoes. His sharp, emerald eyes quietly focused on the disheveled form in front of him as he crossed his arms and his thin lips formed a smirk across his handsome face. He stood in front of her for a few seconds, watching her breathe, before saying, “Well… I guess I need to invest in some bigger mousetraps, huh?”

Vic’s eyes shot wide open as fear and anger spread through her whole body. She sprang to her feet as quick as a cat and swung her fist wildly, catching the well dressed man on the chin. His head jerked to the side and his slicked back hair moved out of place as he reached his hand up to his chin. Vic raised both of her fist and said, “Stay back! I don’t want any of you assholes touching me again! Isn’t it enough that that crazy lady had that preacher attack me! Why can’t you people just leave me alone!”

Frank looked over his shoulder towards the store and quietly said, “Hey, hey. Calm down.” as he gestured with his hands. “Look… Vic, right? I got a call from your buddy. He told me to be on the lookout for you, and to help you if I should find you. I’m a friend, okay?”

Vic kept her hands up as she asked, “And just what fuckin’ 'buddy’ would that be? For that fact, how do you know my name, and how do I know I can trust anything you say, anyway? Just who the hell are you, huh!?”

“Well,” the man began, “The 'buddy’ that I’m talking about certainly has a nicer mouth on him than you do, that’s for sure. You know a big shaggy mass of fur with legs named Fido? Yeah. Look, he called me and told me that you ran away and what your name was. Other than that I don't know anything about you, but as far as who I am, my name is Francis Beau. Call me Frank.” The man extended his hand to Vic. She looked at his hand suspiciously and kept her hands up as she said, “Yeah, I know him. He told you I ran away, right? What? Did he ask you ta take me back to his cabin after you found me? Maybe I ran away because I couldn’t stand being there anymore. That ever cross your fuckin’ mind, asshole? Maybe I don't want ta go back!”

Frank dropped his hand and sighed in exasperation. He knew that she was going to continue to be unreasonable at this rate. He stared at her and crossed his arms before saying, “Look, kid, I wasn’t asked to do anything like that. You can go jump off a bridge for all I care. All I was told was that you had run away, and I was asked if I would keep an eye out for you. Now that I’ve seen you, you can go do whatever you want. But if I could make a suggestion, why don’t you come with me to my place so you can wash that crap off of your face. What’s up with that anyway? It looks like you murdered someone.”

Vic lowered her hands and opened her mouth wide. “THAT’S WHAT THAT OLD BITCH WAS TALKING ABOUT! Fuuuuuck… Don’t worry, dude. It’s just from some berries.” 

Reaching into her duffel, she pulled out her handkerchief filled with the tiny fruit. “See? I didn’t kill anyone, but I did get in a fight with a preacher and I wound up biting his fuckin’ cheek off.”

Frank slapped a hand over his face. “Of course you did. Ugh. I’m going to have to talk to Fido about that and try to do some damage control.” He walked over to her and put his hand on her shoulder. “It’s good that you told me that.”

Vic jerked back from him, dropping her berries all over the floor as she pulled her fists up again. “I told you not ta fuckin’ touch me!” she shouted at him. 

Frank raised his hands defensively and said, “Whoa, whoa. Okay. I’m sorry. Look, it won’t happen again, I promise.”

Vic lowered her hands and picked up her duffel while keeping her eyes on him. Once she had the strap slung across her chest again, she said, “It better not. The next time it happens’ll be the last time you see me, got it?”

Frank nodded his head before kneeling and picking up the berries that Vic dropped. After putting them back in the handkerchief he handed it to her. “Here. You might want to keep these.”

Vic took them and put them in her bag without ever taking her eyes off of the pale-skinned man.

Frank moved over to a coat rack and grabbed a light cloak and a big hat which he handed to Vic, saying, “Here. Put these on and follow me out of the store. I need to close up real quick, and then we can head over to my place.” 

Once she was dressed in her disguise it was only a matter of minutes before she was inside of Frank’s car, and the two were on their way. It didn’t take long to get to his house, and once inside Vic sat her bag down and relaxed completely. “Oh my god, your air conditioner feels fuckin’ awesome, dude.” She stood directly under the vent as the cool breeze ruffled her messy, blonde hair. Frank looked at her and chuckled before asking, “Is that why you ran away? Because Fido’s air conditioner went out?” 

Vic gave him a look of genuine surprise and asked, “How?”

Frank burst out laughing and said, “Hahahaha! Kid! Fido called me as soon as it went out, and I was just waiting for the replacement part to get here! In fact,” he pulled a small cardboard box out of his pocket and showed it to the mouse-woman, “this just came in the mail earlier today. I was actually going to head up to the cabin, but just as I was ready to leave Fido called and asked if I could watch out for you.”

Vic felt a pang of embarrassment and guilt as she stared at the small box. She averted her eyes and said sheepishly, “Um… You said that I could wash this crap off of me, right?” 

Frank put the box back in his pocket and said, “Yeah. My bathroom is down the hall and on the left. Sorry, but it’s not as big as the one at the cabin.” 

Vic laughed so hard that her split lip opened up and she started bleeding again as she said, “I don’t think anyone’s bathroom is as big as that one. Hahaha!” She grabbed her bag and headed down the hallway. She had taken off her cloak and hat as soon as she made it inside of Frank’s house, so once she was inside the bathroom she shimmied out of her shirt and held it up in front of her. She groaned as she saw the dried blood stains. After throwing the shirt on the floor she pulled down her shorts and examined herself in the mirror. Her sandy blonde fur made spotting bruises difficult, but she could definitely tell that her ribs would be sore for a few days wear she had been tackled, and her right breast had a large bruise on it that was noticeable where her fur started to thin out. She could feel a few bumps on her hips where she had rolled in the gravel road while trying to get away from the preacher, but the most noticeable injury of the day was the left side of her face where she had taken a haymaker to the face. Her eye was starting to swell shut, and her cheek and short snout were puffy, but her busted lip was what was hurting her the most at the moment, especially after laughing like she had just a second ago.

A knock suddenly came at the bathroom door that startled Vic. It was Frank. He asked if she was having trouble figuring out how to turn on the shower. He also wanted to know if she preferred chicken or beef because he was going to cook something for lunch. 

She told him that she liked burgers and that she was going to get in the shower in just a bit, because she was checking something out first. 

After Frank went away Vic turned on the water and set it to a lukewarm temperature. As she rinsed the sweat and dirt off of herself she also rinsed her mouth out to try to wash the coppery taste of blood off of her tongue. After lathering up and rinsing off really good she climbed out of the bath and grabbed a towel. She then toweled off and simply ran her fingers through her hair despite there being a brush readily available for herto use. 

She wiped the fog off of the mirror and was glad to see that she didn’t look like she had just eaten a small child anymore, and when she looked at her lip it still looked tender, but at least it didn’t look like it would be bad enough to scar. Her eye, however, was now almost completely swollen shut. She shrugged her shoulders and pulled a clean shirt and pair of jeans out of her bag.

Once she was dressed she walked out of the bathroom and found her way to the kitchen where Frank had just finished plating two cheeseburgers with homemade french fries. When he saw her come in he immediately noticed her eye and rushed over to her. He almost grabbed her face to inspect the swelling, but stopped short and asked if he could. 

Vic was instinctively suspicious of him, but she told him he could touch her just to check out her eye. Frank turned her face left, right, up, and down as he inspected the damage. As he did Vic couldn’t help but notice just how unnaturally green his eyes were up close.

“You’re going to be sporting that shinier for a few weeks, but at least I don’t see anything that looks like it will cause lasting damage.” Frank walked over to his freezer and pulled out a sack of frozen peas which he handed to Vic before saying, “Hold onto this. I’ll be back with some bandage tape in just a second.” When Vic asked what the tape was for Frank smiled and said, “I’m going to tape those peas over your eye so you can eat with both hands.” 

Vic waited patiently for Frank to get back, and when he did, she let him put the bandage on her head in a way so that the peas wouldn’t fall away from her eye. Then he sat down with his burger and the two ate in silence. 

After dinner Frank told Vic that he’s one of the few humans that actually knows about her, Val, Sidney, and Fido. He even told her that he helped in freeing her and Val from the facility. At the mention of the facility, though, Vic shut down and said that she didn’t want to talk anymore.

After sitting in silence for several minutes Frank asked Vic if she would like to watch some TV for a while. This lifted her spirits some, and as they watched, Frank slowly asked her about why she ran away from the cabin. It took a while to get the truth out of her, but after letting her tell her own version of the events without calling her out on anything, Vic finally came forward with the truth of what happened. She did leave out the part about slapping Sidney after peeing on her own hand, however.

“And you don’t think that was selfish of you at all?” Frank asked.

“Duuuude… I don’t know anymore, man. I mean, I was just really fuckin’ pissed, and I wasn’t thinking, but if I go back now I know I’m gonna get chewed out because I really was a grade A asshat. I don’t know what I ought ta do right now…” Vic looked at her feet as she tried to decide her next course of action. Then she heard Frank lean forward in his seat and say, “Look, kid, I can’t tell you what to do, but try to think about it like this, your brother is still there in that cabin. From what Fido has told me about you two, you are more protective of him than you are of yourself. I didn’t tell you this earlier because I wanted to see what you would decide to do for yourself, but I called Fido, while you were in the shower, and I kept hearing your brother in the background asking if you were okay and whether or not you were coming back. Fido told me that he’s been worried sick ever since they found out that you left, and it was all Fido could do to keep him from chasing after you.”

Vic felt like she had a belly full of razor blades as her guilt ate away at her. She breathed into her hands and said, “Hey, um… If you don’t mind, could I just crash here tonight and then… tomorrow… I guess it would be alright if you gave me a ride back up the mountain… I mean, you have to take that air conditioner part up there anyway, right?”

Frank smiled at her and said, “I’ll go call Fido so he can let your brother know.” 

As he passed by Vic on his way to the phone she whispered, “Thank you.”

Later that night Frank showed Vic to the guest room, but just as she was getting ready for sleep she saw flashing blue lights pull up in front of Frank's home. She crept out of the room and eavesdropped on the conversation that Frank was having with two police officers that had knocked on his door. 

It turned out that someone had told them about Frank closing up shop early and how he had a strange person with him. The police were telling Frank that they were on the lookout for a violent person who assaulted a preacher and terrorized an old lady earlier that day. 

Frank denied everything, but one of the officers happened to notice Vic’s duffel which she left in the living room. The police then informed Frank that the duffel matched the one described by both the preacher and Mrs. Agnes Greer, and they would be coming in and searching his home since they now had a reason to believe the assailant was there.

Vic quickly slipped back into the guest room and began to panic. She could hear the officers opening doors as they came down the hallway so she quickly hid under the bed. She knew that they would find her eventually if she stayed there, but she didn’t know what else to do. 

As she racked her brain, trying to figure a way out of this situation she suddenly remembered something that Fido told both her and Val back when they first got to the cabin. Apparently she could transform into the form of the animal that she was spliced with, but she had never actually done it before. She didn’t know how.

She tried to remember everything that Fido told her about transforming, but the closer the officer got the more she panicked, and the harder it was to focus. Suddenly she just thought to herself 'Ah, fuck it!’ The next thing she knew it felt like her entire body was on fire. She could feel her bone shrinking and relocating. Her skin became so tight over her skeleton that she was sure it was going to tear before the bones shrunk to the proper size. The pain of the transformation was so great that she couldn’t even cry out, but as soon as she heard the officer’s foot fall on the carpeted floor of the guest room her only instinct was to run, and run she did.

The officer at the door heard his partner scream, and he quickly unholstered his firearm as he watched the hallway. A blonde blur came darting down the hallway followed by a cursing officer. The small figure ran around the walls before heading right out the front door, startling the other officer as it passed. The officer at the door looked at his partner and asked, “What was that!?” His partner had a flustered look on his face when he replied, “It was a god damned rat! I hate those little fuckers!”

Frank calmly looked at both of the officers and said, “Gentlemen, if you haven’t found anything pertinent to your case, then I would like to ask that you please leave. I closed up the general goods store early today because I had a friend visit from out of town. She has already left, but as you can see the poor thing forgot her duffel bag. If I see this… 'rat demon’, was it? I’ll be sure to give you a call immediately. You have my word. Now, good night, gentlemen.”

The pale-skinned man’s green eyes seemed to glow as he held the door open for the officers and ushered them out. They both regarded him suspiciously, but they didn’t have anything that they could get him on. There were signs of someone being in the house earlier, but it was now clear that Frank was alone. Not to mention, the clothes that the two involved in the attack described were nowhere to be found. The officers tipped their hats to Frank and he saluted them as they left. As soon as he was back inside with the door locked he immediately bolted for the phone to let Fido know what happened.

The night was just about as hot as the day, and with her senses on fire from her recent transformation, Vic could barely tell where she was going. All she knew was that right now she had to keep running. Everything around her screamed danger, but her little legs carried her faster than she could ever have imagined. After running for a few minutes her nose picked up a certain scent that made her mouth water more than any cheeseburger ever had. 

She ran up to this cookie cutter house with a white picket fence, and, after shimmying up a trellis of roses, she jumped onto one of the windowsills. From the sill she could see the source of the smell. It was a dollop of chocolate hazelnut spread that was inside of a transparent, green box. 

She made her way down from the sill and ran straight for the delicious smelling treat, but as soon as she touched it a clear door slid down in front of and behind her trapping her in the box. It was only then that her senses calmed down enough that she became aware of her surroundings.

The sound of giant feet hitting hardwood echoed in the box before a flash of light temporarily blinded her. Once her eyes adjusted to the bright light she noticed that she was in a child’s bedroom and the face of the room’s occupant was staring at her with a grin that stretched from one one side of her face to the other. She picked up the box and said, “Hey there Mr. Mouse. You’re gonna be my new friend starting today!” As Vic was looking at the giant face in front of this strange child, her adrenaline rush died down, and she suddenly passed out from exhaustion, the child’s huge grin being the last thing she remembered.

* * *

Runaway Ratón (Part 3)

A week had passed since Vic had been captured by this prattling preschooler. The young girl couldn’t have been older than five or six years old, but that hardly mattered to the angry mouse. To her this sparkle infused nightmare was nothing more than her jailer, and she was patiently waiting for her chance to escape. However, she knew that unless something drastic happened she would never be given that chance.

In hindsight, Vic realized that biting the girl so early on was a big mistake, and if the girl hadn’t begged her dad, the small mouse would have been drowning in a sewer or septic tank right now. She supposed she slightly owed the girl for saving her life, but at the same time, she still cursed her because she wouldn’t even be in this mess if it weren’t for the mouse trap the girl had set up.

“Now, Mr. Mouse, you behave today.” the girl scolded as she picked up the wire cage that was Vic’s prison. She had tried several times to free herself from the enclosure throughout the week, but the girl’s father had used metal fasteners to keep the cage door shut so that she couldn’t chew through them and the girl couldn’t open the cage and get bitten again. The metal cage rattled as it was set down on a small plastic table covered in a pink table cloth. 

Set out on the table was a big, pink, plastic tea pot with colored acrylic jewels glued to it and the faces of cartoon characters that Vic didn’t recognize painted on the side. Surrounding the pot were four plastic cups and saucers in the same bright pink as the pot, each of them set at one edge of the square table. Vic had gone through this many times in the past week and she was sick to death of having tea parties with Sir Fluffybottom, Madame Rainbowsprinkle, and Toby, the plush, stuffed cat.

It was like a rehearsed play from hell with how methodical everything was. Vic often found herself wishing that the “tea” in the pot was real and scalding hot so she could pour the boiling liquid over the girl’s head just to shut her up. However, today Vic was saved from having such thoughts as a voice rang out from another room. “Kiki. Put Mr. Mouse back on your dresser. We’re about to go have lunch at Grandma’s house.”

“Okay, Daddy.” came the girl’s reply. As she picked up the cage Kiki apologized to Vic. “I’m sorry, Mr. Mouse. We can have our tea party some other time, but right now I have to go to my granny’s house and eat.” She kissed the bars of the cage and left the room saying, “I love you, Mr. Mouse. You be a good mouse until I get back, okay?” and with that Vic waited until she heard the door to the house shut and latch before allowing herself to relax.

‘How could I let this happen?’ she thought. Vic found that after changing to her mouse form, she had lost the ability to speak. 'If only I hadn’t panicked back then, I would already be back at Fido’s place with Val instead of locked in a cage again!”

…’again’… The word rang through her head like a giant bell. She had tried so hard to forget, to put the ordeal out of her mind. She didn’t know how the rest of them could be so well adjusted when she, herself, had constant nightmares about the torturous treatment that she and her brother went through while they were at the facility.

She shuddered and walked up the plastic ramp in her cage to sleep in the small wooden house that was placed in there for her. As she settled into the paper bedding she was reminded of how she and Val had huddled together on the streets using old newspapers to try to stay warm. That was before the van. Before her brother encouraged her by saying that their situation couldn’t be much worse. 'Boy was he ever wrong.’ she thought. She tried to suppress the unpleasant memories of the beatings that they suffered, the pain they felt after the surgeries, and the late night visits by the guards who had no problem taking her and her brother in turn. It wasn’t like they could really call anyone and report the guards. She remembered cursing herself constantly as she listened to her brother sobbing in his own cell after one of the visits. Remembered the curses and the threats that she made to every man and woman that so much as came near her brother. Their faces were forever burned into her mind, as were the faces of her own violators.

Despite Fido’s constant warnings to lay low, Vic still maintained that if she ever saw one of those people in the real world either they wouldn’t walk away from the encounter or she wouldn’t. Either way she fully intended on making good on her promises one day. 

As she lay down in the bedding, Vic started to close her eyes. Kiki had put her cage in a warm spot in the room and the heat from the sun shining through the window made her sleepy. 

As she went through a mental list of the people that she would one day make pay for touching her brother, she thought about the last person to walk through the door of her cell. Her eyes closed as the scenario played out in her dreams.

It was completely silent in her cell; the only noise to be heard was the sound of electricity running through the wires and her own steady heartbeat. Vic’s body felt heavy from the drugs that she had been given earlier that day. It was supposed to be her final surgery, and after this they promised that she would no longer have to live in a solitary cell. She would have her own apartment, and she would be able to live with her brother again. She heard the approaching sound of boots on tile and knew that her time had come. When the door to her cell whooshed open a man in a lab coat was standing in the doorway. He was wearing a strange mask with canisters on either side, and when Vic got a good whiff of the air she thought she knew why.

The lean man tossed a mask at her and said, “Put this on. Hurry! We don’t have a lot of time!” His voice sounded urgent, but not panicked. Vic watched the mask fall through the air and crash on the ground in front of her without lifting so much as a finger to try to catch it. “W-why should I trust you?” she croaked out weakly. As if in answer a smaller person, who was also wearing a gas mask poked his head from behind a wall. “Val…” she managed. “Thank god you’re safe.” She looked the taller man square in the face and pleadingly said, “Get him out of here. Whatever you do. I don’t care what happens to me, but you make sure he gets out and lives!”

Val walked up beside her and picked up the mask before her. “What are you talking about? We’re twins! Whatever happens to one happens to the other, and since I intend to get out of here,” He quickly fastened the mask onto her face and helped her to her feet. “that means you’re getting out of here, too!” 

As soon as Val got Vic standing, the taller man ran in and picked Vic up in a fireman’s carry and ushered Val to quickly follow him. Although she was drugged up the entire time, Vic vaguely remembered them going through access ways and service entrances before they made it to the facility’s kitchen where a box truck was waiting. She remembered seeing a lot of people sleeping as they went, but the last thing she remembered was being put in a large cardboard box and the sound of the truck’s horn blowing.

The blowing horn seemed to get louder and louder and even louder until Vic was violently ripped from her dream to rejoin the real world. 

The wire cage which imprisoned her was hurtling through the air along with chunks of wood and brick. The cage smashed against the far wall of the pink painted room and an opening formed in the side of it just big enough for her to slip through. Not understanding what just happened, and not caring, Vic seized the opportunity to escape her confinement. She quickly squeezed her mousy form through the aperture and darted through the door of the room which had been left open. She could hear curses being shouted behind her as she ran, but didn’t look back as she desperately sought an escape from the house.

She had only just made it to the front door when a key turned in the lock and the door swung wide open as Kiki’s father came rushing into the house. As he entered she exited. The older man, being too concerned about the damage, didn’t even notice her, and she quickly ran for cover under some bushes that lined the house. She could see the little girl who had imprisoned her crying, and she began to put together what happened once she saw the pick-up truck that was lodged halfway inside of the house.

'They must have lost control somehow.’ she thought to herself. 'Oh well. Lucky for me they just happened to hit the wall of the room I was in.’ Turning, she scampered off through the bushes with the last sounds that she heard coming from the house being the little girl asking if her pet mouse was okay. 

Vic couldn’t get away from that house fast enough. As she sped along from bush to bush, she began to realize that it didn’t feel as hot out today as it had a week ago. She wasn’t sure if this had to do with her much smaller form or if the heat wave had actually passed, but she thought it was something a blessing nonetheless.

It took her a full half hour before she finally recognized the house that she had run away from a week earlier when the police came looking for her. She carefully sniffed around the back door of the house before trying her best to squeeze under it. She came to the realization early on that she wouldn’t be able to knock or ring a doorbell in her current form. Once inside she began looking for Frank, however, she was unable to find hide nor hair of him. Understanding her situation of being unable to speak, and wanting to avoid being squished upon site, Vic found a pile of old newspapers and sales ads. Using her dexterous paws she flipped through the pages and ripped letters from the headlines until she had the right ones to spell out “I-A-M-V-I-C-!-I-W-A-N-T-T-O-G-O-H-O-M-E-!”

After gathering the letters in her mouth she made her way into the living room where she had watched the television with Frank and climbed into his chair. Once on the cushion she arranged the bits of paper to spell her message and got comfortable while she waited.

Roughly three hours went by before she heard a key being inserted into the door handle. She perked up on her hind legs, her beady eyes full of hope. 

When the door opened she jumped up onto the chairs arm rest and started waving at Frank, trying to get his attention. The pale-skinned man hung his keys on a hook near his door and shut and locked it behind him. When he turned around his attention was caught by the scattered papers all over his floor and he warily began looking around the rest of the house while allowing his hand to reach behind his back for the pistol that he always carried in a waistband holster. As his eyes slowly trailed across the room, he stopped and relaxed a bit when he saw the sandy blonde mouse waving at him awkwardly from the arm of his favorite chair.

Dropping his hands to his sides, Frank said, “Oh. There you are.” 

He walked over to the chair and read the message that Vic had spelled out for him. “Yeah, I kind of figured, but thanks for spelling it out for me.” He held out his hand and continued, “It’s been a week since you went missing and everyone is worried sick. Come on. Let’s get you home.” With that, Vic hopped onto his open palm and allowed herself to be carried back to the door. Once they were in Frank’s car he sat Vic on the dashboard and said, “So, why haven’t you turned back into your humanoid form yet?” Vic made a couple of annoyed squeaks at him before he remembered that she couldn’t talk in her current form. “Oh, right. Right. Well, once we get back to the cabin I’m sure Fido can help you change back. He’s told me before that he can somewhat communicate with other animals, but since you two are also more human than not, I’m sure he’ll be able to communicate better with you.”

Frank cranked his car and slowly pulled out of his driveway. As he was leaving the town he passed a house that had a gaping hole in the side of it and said, “Sheesh. You don’t usually see folks lose control of their cars like that around here. Thankfully it doesn’t look like anyone was hurt.” He continued driving, and, as they passed the house where Agnes Greer lived, Frank spoke up again. “Just so you know, you made a lot of trouble for me last week. You’re lucky I thought to hide your bloody clothes before those cops showed up, and I managed to convince Mrs. Greer that she was hallucinating because she forgot to take her medicine earlier that day.” 

He sighed and gave Vic a quick glance before returning his eyes to the road. “There’s still one problem, though.” He spared a glance at her again. “That preacher whose cheek you bit off. Now, we tried to convince him that maybe what he saw was just a girl in a Halloween costume, but he’s not buying it. Especially not when the doctors who examined his would said that it looked like a giant rodent was responsible for his missing flesh. The people I work with are still trying to sweep this under the rug, but at this rate we’re going to have to hire our own doctors and pay them off to discredit the local quacks. After that we’ll just have to hope that he gets labeled as some crazy who got attacked by a deranged cosplayer.” Vic squeaked angrily at the accusation that she was the attacker. “I’m guessing there’s something about that that you don’t like, but look. We’re here.” he said as he finally pulled up to the cabin.

The lights were on inside the two-story cabin, and as soon as Frank put the car in park the large wooden door flew open and a blond figure wearing a skirt and cropped t-shirt came running down the stairs of the wrap-around porch. As his feet hit the dirt two other figures followed him out of the house, one a loomingly tall dog-man and the other a fennec fox-woman that was only slightly taller than Vic because of her gigantic ears.

When Val reached the door to the car he waited impatiently for Frank to get out, but as soon as he was out, the mouse-boy grabbed the human’s vest with his unfurred hands and asked with pleading eyes, “Have you seen her yet? Has she come back?” 

Frank replied by putting his hand to the dashboard of the car and letting Vic hop into it. “Yes and yes.” he said as he held Vic’s rodential form out to her brother. “The little scamp was waiting for me at my house when I got home from work.” 

By this time Fido and Sidney were walking up to join them. “She doesn’t seem to know how to turn back from this form though. She was probably only able to make the transformation the first time because of how scared she was. Fido, can you talk to her in your dog form and help her change back?” Frank asked.

Fido looked over the small blonde mouse and said, “I can try… but to be perfectly honest whether or not she can change back is entirely up to her.” Val grabbed Fido’s fur-coved arm and, with tears in his eyes said, “Please, Fido… You have to help her. She’s my sister.” 

The big dog-man pulled his arm free and said, “Fine,” before pointing a clawed finger at Vic. “but you and I are going to have a long talk about your anger issues later.” Vic flattened her round ears as the tall man straightened up and unbuttoned his shirt, taking it off and handing it to Sidney. He took a deep breath and seemed to tense up as he strained his muscles. The joints in his body started to dislocate and his large frame began to shrink. His transformation was a lot smoother than Vic’s (A feat that came from years of practice.), and within just a few seconds he stepped out of his jeans as a fully matured Saint Bernard.

Frank set Vic on the ground in front of him and, to her surprise, she heard his voice in her head. 'Vic? Can you hear me?’

'Yes, but how?’ she asked looking up at the much larger creature.

'I don’t know the technical details, but it seems that we can talk to each other via some sort of mental link or something. I first found this out with Sidney back when we met, but that’s not important right now. What’s important is getting you back to normal. So I need you to tell me anything you remember about when you transformed in Frank’s house. He’s already told me about the police showing up and I’m sure you were scared, but what I need to know is what you felt in the moment. Fear and desperation will trigger a change, but there is always a tell with your body, a kind of nervous tick that accompanies it. For me, my nose starts to tingle and twitch. If you can remember what your tell was then you just focus on that and it will help trigger your transformation.’

Vic waited for him to finish before saying, 'I… I don’t remember though. It was a whole week ago, and I was panickin’.’ She thought extremely hard until she vaguely remembered her right ear twitching several times just before her joints began to dislocate and her muscles started to pop. 'Um… well my ear twitched a few times just before it happened…’

'Good.’ Fido said approvingly. 'Try to make your ear twitch again without touching it, and focus your mind on transforming from a mouse to your other form. Your body will do the rest, but you have to start it.’

Vic focused hard as she tried to make her ear flicker until finally Fido noticed the round appendage quickly flick three times. Vic’s small form suddenly began to grow as pain howled throughout her body. 

Fido made his nose twitch in the same way, and soon he was upright as well. When Vic finished her transformation both she and Fido were standing in front of everyone stark naked, but Vic was so overjoyed at being home and with her brother that she didn’t care and ran to hug him tightly as she loudly sobbed into his shoulder. Fido picked up his jeans and put them back on as Vic continued to tell Val how sorry she was and that she didn’t mean to hurt him, and how she wouldn’t ever run away and leave him again. Val was crying as well calling his sister a big dummy and telling her how much he loved her.

Shirtless, Fido walked over to Frank and said, “Thank you for this. You always seem to be doing more for us than we do for you.” 

Frank replied by laughing and saying, “I do, don’t I? But then again it’s not every day I get to see a little boy that I rescued grow up to be a man with a family of his own, even if yours is far from ordinary.” 

Fido slugged him in his shoulder. “So what? You’re trying to be my dad now?” 

Frank chuckled and replied, “Not in the slightest. You can think of me more as a guardian angel or fairy godmother though, if it makes you feel better.” 

Fido laughed at that and said, “You’re an ass. Haha. But seriously… Thank you for bringing her back to us. I don’t know how much longer Val would have lasted without…”

“YOU HAVEN’T BEEN EATING?!” The accusation rang out from one of the twins, cutting Fido’s sentence short. 

Sidney put her hands on Vic’s arm saying, “He was so worried about you that he could barely get up and walk around. We tried to convince him, but with you gone…”

“So what?!” She grabbed Val by his shirt. “You think just because I’m gone that means that ya don’t have ta still look after yerself?! Don’t ya remember what I said back when we were rescued from the facility?! You have to keep living, asshole! Do you have any idea what it would have been like if I had gotten back after you…you…” 

She let her voice trail off and then suddenly ruffled her own hair before putting her brother in a headlock and walking him towards the stairs. “Yer lucky I missed your ass all this time because if not, I would be kickin’ it all over the yard right now.” She then straightened up as she remembered something. She turned to talk to Frank, still keeping her brother's face squished against her naked chest. “Oh yeah, Frank! Thanks for bringing me back here, and if you see a little girl named Kiki down in town tell her that her 'Mr. Mouse’ has gone back to live with his old family.”

“So you were in that room that that truck ran into all week long?” came his surprised reply.

Vic rolled her eyes as she responded in an annoyed voice. “Fuuuuuuck yes. I’ve never been a victim of so many unwanted tea parties, but at least she did save my life when her dad was going to flush me down a toilet. She at least needs to know that her pet mouse survived the truck crashing into her room.”

Val started patting Vic on the arm trying to get her to let go of him. “Oh, thanks again for bringin’ me back. Now I’m gonna go force some food down my stupid brother’s throat. See ya later!”  
She waved at him as she pulled her brother up the stairs, swearing and jerring at her brother the whole way.

Frank looked at Fido and shrugged. “Like I said, far from ordinary.” 

Sidney popped up uncomfortably close to Frank and put her hands on his chest before saying, “That just means we’re unique and fun to hang around with. You should come over more often. It’s been a while since I’ve seen those pretty green eyes~” 

Frank grabbed both of her hands and pulled them off of himself. “Sorry, but I’m still busy trying to clean up Vic’s mess. It might be a while before I can visit again.”

“That’s fine.” Fido said before Sidney could protest. “We’re just thankful to have someone watching over us.” He held out his fur-covered paw and the two men shook hands before Frank got into his car and left. 

Once he was gone, Fido and Sidney went back in the large cabinwhere Vic was trying to force feed her brother some tomato soup and a hastily made ham sandwich. She stopped struggling with him just long enough to pull Sidney to the side and privately apologize for slapping her before. The solid white fennec woman smiled brightly and gave her a hug telling her that she forgave her… this time.


End file.
